Conveyor loading and counting system

ABSTRACT

A conveyor loading and counting system is described for deriving a count and controlling operation of a conveyor for transporting articles between a loading and unloading area. The system includes loading and unloading area count registering means coupled to and controlling loading and unloading area counting and read-out means, respectively. The loading area count registering means includes a loading area count registering trigger mounted on a conveyor mechanism for moving completed articles from the loading area to an unloading area with the trigger means being actuated by a completed article passing over the conveyor mechanism for registering one unit count for each completed article transported by the conveyor mechanism out of the loading area into the unloading area. The conveyor mechanism includes a power driven portion that normally in its inactive condition engages a completed article subsequent to the completed article being loaded upon the conveyor mechanism and wherein the count registering trigger of the loading area counter, in addition to registering a unit count for each completed article loaded upon the conveyor mechanism, also actuates the power driven portion of the conveyor to cause the conveyor to move the article off the trigger a sufficient distance to assure return of the trigger to its normally inactive position (thereby recording one count) while simultaneously loading the power driven portion of the conveyor with one completed article. The conveyor mechanism preferably includes a plurality of different located count assuring stops for accommodating different types of articles produced by the manufacturing facility and being loaded on the conveyor. The system also further includes a plurality of different characteristic article counters at both the loading areas for deriving a count of each different type of article completed in the manufacturing facility and a type of article selector for selectively activating a desired one of the differently located count assuring stops and different characteristic article counters. The system also further includes at least one over-delivery sensing and inactivating control means for sensing a build up of unloaded articles being delivered to the discharge-unloading end of the conveyor mechanism above a predetermined number, and for inactivating the power driven portion of the conveyor mechanism in response thereto. Further, manually operable control means also are provided for inactivating the power driven portion of the conveyor at the option of an operator-unloader working at the discharge-unloading end of the conveyor.

United States Patent De Witt et al.

[ CONVEYOR LOADING AND COUNTING SYSTEM [72} Inventors: David A. De Witt,9 Wempel Building, Netherlands Village, Schenectady, N.Y. 12308; RalphW. De Witt, 68 Spring Ave., Latham, N.Y. 12110 [22] Filed: Nov. 10, 1970[21 l Appl. No.: 88,422

Related U.S. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 701,979, Jan.3l, 1968,

Pat. No. 3,593,008.

[52] US. Cl. ..198/40, 198/26, 198/37 [51] Int. Cl. ..B65g 43/08, 865g47/10 [58] Field of Search ..198/21, 37, 40, 26; 214/16 B [56]References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,482,197 l/1924 Kimball ..198/37X 583,111 5/1897 Friedman ..198/40 X 1,970,574 8/1934 Pelosi ..198/373,063,544 11/1962 Yen ..198/37 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,260,8304/1961 France ..198/40 Primary Examiner-Edward A. Sroka Attorney-CharlesW. Helzer l 5 7 1 ABSTRACT A conveyor loading and counting system isdescribed for deriving a count and controlling operation of a conveyorfor transporting articles between a loading and unloading area. Thesystem includes loading and unloading area count registering meanscoupled to and controlling loading and unloading area counting andread-out means, respectively. The loading area count registering meansincludes a loading area count Iraq- 1 W W i 1 Aug. 29, 1972 registeringtrigger mounted on a conveyor mechanism for moving completed articlesfrom the loading area to an unloading area with the trigger means beingactuated by a completed article passing over the conveyor mechanism forregistering one unit count for each completed article transported by theconveyor mechanism out of the loading area into the unloading area. Theconveyor mechanism includes a power driven portion that normally in itsinactive condition engages a completed article subsequent to thecompleted article being loaded upon the conveyor mechanism and whereinthe count registering trigger of the loading area counter, in additionto registering a unit count for each completed article loaded upon theconveyor mechanism, also actuates the power driven portion of theconveyor to cause the conveyor to move the article off the trigger asufficient distance to assure return of the trigger to its normallyinactive position (thereby recording one count) while simultaneouslyloading the power driven portion of the conveyor with one completedarticle. The conveyor mechanism preferably includes a plurality ofdifferent located count assuring stops for accommodating different typesof articles produced by the manufacturing facility and being loaded onthe conveyor. The system also further includes a plurality of differentcharacteristic article counters at both the loading areas for deriving acount of each different type of article completed in the manufacturingfacility and a type of article selector for selectively activating adesired one of the differently located countassuring stops and differentcharacteristic article counters. The system also further includes atleast one over-delivery sensing and inactivating control means forsensing a build up of unloaded articles being delivered to thedischarge-unloading end of the conveyor mechanism above a predeterminednumber, and for inactivating the power driven portion of the conveyormechanism in response thereto. Further, manually operable control meansalso are provided for inactivating the power driven portion of theconveyor at the option of an operatorunloader working at thedischarge-unloading end of the conveyor.

16 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures CONVEYOR LOADING AND COUNTING SYSTEM Thisis a divisional application of Ser. No. 701,979 filed Jan. 31, 1968, nowU.S. Pat. No. 3,593,008 issued July 13, 1971.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 1. Field of Invention This invention relates toan automated conveyor loading and counting system for use in an articleper unit of time worked recording system.

More particularly, the invention relates to an automatic conveyorloading and counting system for use in obtaining a central, continuouslyup-dated, running ac count of all people-hours worked in a manufacturingfacility in a given interval of time, the number of people working, thenumber of articles produced and transported through a packing area overa conveyor system to a warehouse area for storage and distributionwhereby an accurate and readily obtained up-to-date figure for thenumber of articles produced per worked hour and/or the number ofarticles produced, handled and stored, is instantaneously available foraccounting and inventory purposes at any time during the work day aswell as at the end of the work day.

2. Description of Prior Art Situation Heretofore, manufacturingfacilities have had no convenient and reliable means for rapidlyassimilating important data relating to the operation of the facilityand its efficiency at any given instant during the work day. This isparticularly true of larger manufacturing facilities havingmanufacturing operations carried out at a number of unit assembly lineareas or work stations in different locations. It has generally been thepractice to wait to the end of each days production to accumulate suchdata manually by a clerk, etc. However, in many operations which arehighly competitive and border on being marginal in return, to wait for afull days results in order to determine whether or not a given operationis running efficiently, may very well turn out to be a catastrophic.What is needed in this kind of operation, is a system which makesavailable at a central location continuously up-dated, accurate databearing on the efficiency of the manufacturing facility on asubstantially instantaneous demand basis at any time during or after awork day. To satisfy this need, the present applicant's U.S. Pat. No.3,593,008 lssued July 13, 1971 -entitled: Article/Time Recording System(of which the present case is a divisional application) describes asemi-automated system for accurately and readily obtaining acontinuously up-dated indication of the number of articles produced perworked hour and/or the number of articles produced, handled and storedat any point in time during or after work, and such indication isinstantaneously available for accounting and/or inventory purposes atany time during or after the work day. For a more detailed descriptionof the Article/Time Recording System reference is made to the aboveidentified U.S. Pat. No. 3,593,008, the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

The Article/Time Recording System disclosed in US. Pat. No. 3,593,008possesses the following characteristics:

l. The system keeps an accurate count of every employee punching into orout of work in the facility on a time clock which may be of conventionalconstruction if desired.

2. The system keeps an accurate count of everyone employed on any workstation, assembly line, packing area or any other type of operationutilized by the firm.

3. The system makes available at any time the total amount ofaccumulated worker time for those employees on any desired operation.This information is in direct read-out form, accurate to any desireddecimal amount of the total accumulation of worked time, on anyoperation, by any number of employees, and is available at any desiredtime of read-out. The important feature to note is that the read-out isaccumulated constantly and is instantaneously available at any timeduring the work day.

4. The system also records all of the items or parts produced, in anyunit amount desired, that are or are not a direct result of thepreviously mentioned operations. In cases where the items produced are adirect result of those operations, it can be readily appreciated that afigure of units per worked hours is available by simply dividing thetotal number of units produced by the total number of worked hours usedin producing those units. Here again, the figure is available eithermanually through mental division computation, or electrically through adirect acting computation device of an electro-mechanical or electronicnature. This figure also is available on an instantaneous basis at anydesired read-out time during the work day.

5. The system can completely record all of the items passing over aconveyor system for transporting the completed articles from an assemblyarea to an unloading or storage area. This can be done item by itemagain reading out in any units desired. Another important feature isthat the items to be transported by the conveyor can be placed on theconveyor at random without any special coded markings necessary on theitem other than to indicate that an item has been counted, and thesystem can be set so as to not only count the randomly placed items unitby unit, but also sort them by item info a separate count of each typeof item being transported.

6. The system supplies information on how many people are working at anyinstant since they have been recorded by the time clock. It will alsoprovide information as to the total time accumulated up to a given pointof read-out to any decimal amount desired, and the total number ofpeople and amount of time worked by the same people on any givenoperation. This supplies an instantaneous check of time and people to bepaid against time worked or people working respectively on the severaloperations being conducted in the facility.

7. The system will also supply information as to the unit pieces perworked hour or per person on an instantaneous demand basis. Thesefigures are extremely important in any firm employing standard costcontrol measures. It will aid in obtaining accurate and adequatestandards for a given manufacturing facility using standard units perworked unit of time. This helps in controlling production and evaluatingthe advantages or disadvantages of different production techniques onand on the spot instantaneous basis after introducing new procedures orchanging old techniques.

8. The system also aid in recording all of the units of an item producedand supplies a triple check on this figure which is important inobtaining accurate inventory control.

In order to provide the information and characteristics set forth initems 5 and 8 above in connection with the Article/Time RecordingSystem, the present invention was devised. However, while the presentConveyor Loading and Counting System is intended primarily for use inthe Article/Time Recording System, it is by no means restricted to suchuse and may find application to a wide variety of uses where it isdesired to obtain a count of articles being transported automaticallyalong with automatic actuation and control of a conveyor mechanism.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION It is therefore a primary object of the presentinvention to provide a new and improved automatic conveyor loading andcounting mechanism for automatically keeping count of articles loaded onthe mechanism as well as controlling operation of the conveyor to drawoff the articles and transport them to an unloading area.

Another-object of the invention is to provide a conveyor loading andcounting mechanism of the above type which also automatically keepscount of all articles transported by and unloaded from the mechanism.

A still further object is to provide such a mechanism which is capableof handling a number of different types of articles and includes aplurality of safety control features for avoiding improper handling ofthe mechanism.

In practicing the invention, a conveyor loading and counting system isprovided which includes loading area counting and read-out means forderiving a count of the completedarticles being processed through aloading area supplied from a predetermined number of packing areas inthe facility for deriving a count of the completed articles beingprocessed through the loading area. Loading area count registering meansare coupled to and control the loading area counting and read-out meansand preferably include a loading area count registering trigger mountedon a conveyor mechanism for moving completed articles out of the loadingarea. The count registering trigger is actuated by a completed articlepassing over the conveyor mechanism for registering one unit count inthe loading area counting readout means for each completed articletransported by the conveyor mechanism out of the loading area. Theconveyor mechanism preferably includes a power driven portion thannormally in its inactive condition engages a completed articlesubsequent to the completed article being loaded upon the conveyormechanism. The mechanism is arranged such that the count registeringtrigger in addition to registering a unit count for each completedarticle loaded upon the conveyor mechanism, also actuates the powerdriven portion of the conveyor to cause the conveyor to withdraw thecompleted article off the count registering trigger and onto the powerdriven portion a sufficient distance to assure return of the trigger toits normally inactive position while simultaneously recording one unitcount and loading the power driven portion of the conveyor with onecompleted article. It is preferred that the loading area counting andread-out means also include a plurality of different characteristicarticle counters for deriving a count of each different type of articlecompleted in themanufacturing facility and processed through the loadingarea. Type of article selector means are also provided with comprise apart of the loading area count registering means for selectivelyactivating a desired one of the plurality of different characteristicarticle counters in accordance with the type of article being processedthrough the loading area. The conveyor loading and counting mechanismalso has at its discharge unloading end at least one over-deliverysensing and inactivating control means for sensing a build-up ofunloaded articles being delivered to the unloading end of the conveyorabove a predetermined number and for inactivating the power drivenportion of the conveyor in response to this build up. A manuallyoperable control means is also provided for inactivating the powerdriven portion of the conveyor at the option of an operator-unloaderworking at the discharge-unloading end of the conveyor.

Unloading area counting and read-out means are also provided forderiving a count of the completed articles being transported to theunloading area from the manufacturing facility, and unloading area countregistering means located in the unloading area are coupled to andcontrol the unloading area counting and read-out means. The unloadingarea count registering means preferably comprises an unloading articlesensing trigger mounted on the discharge-unloading end of the conveyormechanism for registering on unit count for each article transportedover the conveyor from the loading area into the unloading area. Ifdesired, the unloading area may comprise a warehouse, a vehicle fortransporting the funished articles away from the manufacturing facility,etc.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS Other objects, features and many of theattendant advantages of this invention will be appreciated more readilyas the same becomes better understood by reference to the followingdetailed description when considered in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like parts in each of the several figures areidentified by the same reference character, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is an overall functional block diagram of an article/time/personsworking recording system for a manufacturing facility and illustratesthe preferred manner of use of the conveyor loading and counting systemcomprising the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an unpowered, gravity operated rollerloading section for a conveyor loading and system according to theinvention and intended for use in the loading area of a manufacturingfacility, and shows the construction of a count recording and powerconveyor actuating trigger device used on the loading section/ and FIG.3 is a sectional view of a discharge-unloading end of the conveyorloading and counting system of FIG. 2 and illustrates a count triggerarrangement and load limiting power inactivating switch arrangement forcontrolling operation of the conveyor in the unloading area andsimultaneously obtaining a count of all articles processed through theunloading area.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Overall Article/TimeRecording System People Time Counting and Read Out FIG. 1 of thedrawings illustrates the overall article/time/people recording systemcomprising the invention as applied to a manufacturing facility havingsome five assembly lines where each assembly line produces an individualtype of product that is then packed into suitable containers at the endof the line and transferred out to a warehouse storage area to awaitdistribution. It is to be expressly understood that the system is in noway restricted to the particular manufacturing facility hereindescribed, but may be applied to any manufacturing facility wherein itis desired to utilize the system. For example, should it be desired thesystem could be used in connection with only a single assembly linesupplying a single warehouse storage area. However, it is believed thatthe multiple assembly line manufacturing facility poses the more generalproblem, and hence, it has been chosen as the background with which todescribe the present invention.

The article/time recording system installation illustrated in FIG. 1utilizes a read-out information station shown at 11 where the severalcounters and meters used in monitoring the people-hours worked, and thenumber of articles produced by all of the time recorded people workingon a plurality of assembly lines shown at 12,, 12 12,, etc, are located.The articles produced on each of the assembly lines 12 are packed in asuitable packing area and simultaneously counted by packing areacounters shown at 13,, 13 13 etc. The packed articles are then suppliedto a conveyor loading area shown at 14 where they are loaded onto aconveyor shown at 15 for transportation to an unloading or warehousearea shown at 16. The conveyor loading area 14 also includes a loadingarea count registering device 17 which supplies a count of the articlespassing through the conveyor loading area to a loading area counter 18located in the read-out information station. Similarly, an unloadingarea count registering device 19 supplies a count of the articles cominginto the unloading area or warehouse storage area 16 to an unloadingarea counter 21 likewise located in the readout information station 11.

In the producing the completed articles packed at the end of eachassembly line 12, the scheduled production (as determined by a linesupervisor) requires that the assembly line have a certain number ofworkers or people applied to the work for a certain amount of time. Inorder to obtain an accurate record of the required amount of worker-timeor people-time needed to produce the articles, a line people-hours countregistering device shown at 22,, 22 22 etc is provided for each assemblyline and is under the control of the line supervisor. The output foreach of the line people-hours count registering devices 22, which iselectrical in nature, is supplied to a plurality of line timecontrollers and people-time count signal digitizing means 23,, 23 23 etclocated in a control room 24. The outputs from the line time controllersand digitizers 23 are supplied to respective central people hours workedcounting and read-out means comprised by a plurality of counters 25,,etc located in the read-out information station 11. The counters 25 areconventional, commercially available direct current counters of the typemanufactured and sold by a number of United States manufacturers. Forexample, the 24 volt direct current counter type number 19835-006manufactured and sold by the Veeder Root manufacturing company issatisfactory for this component. Counters of this type generallycomprise decade counters which provide a visual indication of the countaccumulated in the counters.

The electrical output signals derived from all the line people-hourscount signal digitizing devices 23,, 23 23 etc also are supplied to anhours-worked per article computing and read-out machine shown at 26 andlocated in the read-out information station 11, in parallel with thecounters 25. Alternatively, for less elaborate installations, it ispossible to omit the articles per worked hour computing and read-outmachine 26 and perform the necessary division mentally from the readingof the counters 25 and the reading of a plurality of articles completedcounters 26,, 26 26 etc to which are supplied the output count signalsdriven from all of the packing area count registering devices 13. Thearticles completed counters 26 may be similar in construction to thecounters 25.

The construction and operation of the line time controllers, digitizers23, packing area count registering devices 13, and line people-hourscount registering devices 22 are described more fully in the abovereferenced US. Pat. No. 3,593,008. The construction and operation of theloading area count registering device 17, the construction of theconveyor 15, the unloading area count registering device 19, the loadingarea counter 18 and the unloading area counter 21 will be described morefully hereinafter in a more detailed manner. The articles per workedhour read-out machine 26 may comprise an on line, general purposedigital computer for use in inventory control or the like whichgenerally can be found in more expensive and elaborate manufacturinginstallations.

In addition to the above several subsystems, the article/time recordingsystem further includes a master time controller 27 located in controlroom 24 and a master time read-out counter 28 located in the readoutinformation station 11. The master time controller 27 is similar inconstruction and operation to the line time controllers and digitizers23. Similarly, the master time read-out counter 28 is similar to thecounters 25 and 26 with the exception that it is capable of accumulating a much greater count then are the counters 25 and 26. Alsoincluded in the read-out information station 11 is a total peopleworking counter 29 which preferably is a reversible counter ofconventional construction. The total people working counter 29 and themaster time controller 27 are connected to and controlled by the outputfrom a time clock 31 that is located in an area where people going toand coming from the assembly lines 12 are required to punch-in andpunch-out when going to and from their work stations at the beginningand end of each work day, and during the noon lunch period.

The time clock 31 may comprise a conventional, commercially availabletime clock such as the Simplex time recorder-model number JD 8manufactured and sold by the Simplex Time Recording Company.

However, it is preferred that the time clock 31 comprise a speciallydesigned time clock which is described more fully in U.S. Pat. No.3,596,277 entitled Control Circuit For Time Clock and Master Counterissued July 27, 1971 David A. and Ralph W. Dewitt, Inventors. Thespecially designed time clock and control circuit described in ourabove-identified copending U.S. application includes not only a meansfor punching-in and punching-out workers at particular authorized timessuch as the morning starting time, the noon lunch break, and the normalevening quitting time, so as to add to or subtract from the total numberof people shown as being punched in and working in the facility at anygiven time; but it also includes ancillary by-pass punch-in andpunch-out means which are key operated for punching-in and punching-outworkers at other than the particular authorized times at the discretionof a supervisor. The time clock circuit disclosed serves to develop anumber of electric output signal pulses which correspond to thepunching-in or punching-out of workers coming to and leaving themanufacturing facility. These electric signal pulses are supplied to thetotal people working counter 29 which is a revesible counter andprovides an instantly available count of all time recorded peopleworking in the facility at any given time. These electric signal pulsesalso are supplied to the master time controller 27 for controlling themaster time read-out count accumulated by counter 28.

In operation, the article/time recording system shown in FIG. 1functions in the following manner. At a predetermined time before actualwork is begun a warning signal is triggered by the time clock 31. Atthis time, a special device wired into the time clock actuates andplaces the clock in a punch-in" mode of operation. During this period,the workers to be assigned to the assembly lines may punch their timecards, and proceed to their various work assignments. At the exact timethat work is to begin, a second signal is sounded which is againcontrolled by the time clock 31. At this time, the master timecontroller enables all of the line time controllers 23,, 23 etc througha connection 27' that includes suitable relay actuated contacts inseries with the power supply to the line time controllers, with therelay actuated contacts being actuated by the master time clock controlcircuit. Also, the special device in the time clock actuates the clockmechanism so as to put the clock in a no-punch mode. That is, after thistime no further punching by the simple process of inserting a time cardinto the clock, is possible, and from this point on workers arriving topunch-in will be considered late for work. Since most manufacturingfirms place their workers on the assembly lines before the work signalit is quite difficult, along with all the other tasks that a supervisorhas to do during normal work operations, to place a late person on anassembly line immediately. Since the worker must then stand and wait,with this system the worker now waits without being punched-in andtherefore he must wait on his own time and not the companys. Thereafter,when the supervisor has a place on an assembly line for the late worker,he can then bypass the no-punch circuit with a key supplied to thesupervisor for this purpose, allow the worker to punch his time card,and then place the worker at a particular place on an assembly linewhere he is to be assigned.

Each time a worker punches into the article/time recording system,whether it be during a regular punch-in" period or with the punch-inby-pass key, the counter 29 in the read-out room 11 advances by onecount. Thus, the counter 29 can supply at any time the total number ofpeople working in the facility at any given time, and hence the peopleto be paid at this time. Concurrently with the actuation of the totalworking counter 29, a stepping switch on the master time controller 27(to be described more fully hereinafter) is advanced by one count. Atthe time of the start work signal, all of the time of those peoplepunched into the clock starts to record on the master time read-out 28.This provides the read-out of the total time of all the time recordedpeople working in the facility on the various assembly lines 12. Asworkers are allowed to punch-in by a supervisor through the use of hiskey operated by-pass of the no-punch mode of the time clock, theseworkers times likewise will start to be added to the total time beingaccumulated by the master time read-out counter 28.

At the noon lunch break normally occurring around 12 p.m., the timeclock 31 automatically changes to a punch-out mode during which periodworkers can punch out automatically by inserting a time card into theclock in a normal manner and thereby allow the workers to punch-out fortheir noon luncheon break. After a short interval of time, it ispreferable that the time clock again revert to a no-punch mode ofoperation until the end of the noon luncheon break, normally occurringaround 12:30 pm. At this time, the time clock 31 again automaticallygoes into a punch-in mode during which time workers can again punch-intheir time card by merely inserting the time cards into the time clock.Thereafter, the time clock again reverts to its no-punch mode until theend of the work period when the punching out process is again repeated.Each time that a worker punches out, whether it is during the prescribedpunch-out period at noon or at the end of the work day, or whether it isa key operated by-pass form of punchout with the assistance of thesupervisor, the reversible total people working counter 29 will countdown by one count for each worker punchingout, and similarly, one workerwill be subtracted from the total number of workers times beingregistered in the master time controller 27 so as to show on the mastertime read-out 28. For a more detailed description of the constructionand operation of the time clock 31, and particularly the means forpunching-in and punching-out workers at particular authorized times soas to add to or subtract from the total number of people working in thefacility at any given time recorded on the total people working counter29, as well as the ancillary, key operated, by-pass punch-in andpunch-out means for punching-in and punching-out workers at other thanthe particuiar authorized times at the discretion of a supervisor,reference is made to our aboveidentified U.S. Pat. No. 3,596,277.

After punching-in at the time clock 31, a worker is placed on one of thefive assembly lines 12, and at this time, asupervisor adds one count tohis line peoplehours count registering device 22,, 22 etc whichpreferably also includes a read-out light located in the assembly finearea to indicate to the supervisor the total number of people working onthat particular assembly line. The line people-hours count registeringdevice actually is a pair of electric switches with one switchrepresenting a plus and the other a minus for adding to or subtractingfrom the number of workers indicated by the read-out light. Upon aworker being added, the plus switch is pressed by the supervisor andwill add one count to the number indicated by the read-out light in theassembly area, and simultaneously will add one count to the number beingread-out by the line time controllers and digitizers 23 located in thecontrol room 24. Similarly, if a worker is removed from the assemblyline, the supervisor merely actuates the minus switch so as to subtractone count from the number indicated on the assembly line read-out light,and simultaneously subtract one count from the people-time count of theline time controllers and digitizers 23. If it desired to change aworker from one assembly line to another assembly line, the minuscontrol on the assembly line that he is leaving is depressed, and theplus control switch on the line that he is entering is actuated.

From the foregoing description, it will be appreciated that whenever aplus or minus switch in the line people-hours count registering devices22, is actuated, two simultaneous events take place. The number recordedin the read-out light located in the assembly line area is changed byadding or subtracting one digit due to a stepping switch on the linetime controllers and digitizers 23 located in the control room 24 beingstepped up or stepped down, respectively. The stepping-up or down of thestepping switch also changes the people-hours count being recorded onthe counters 25 located in the read-out information station 11. Inaddition, preferred installations will include read-out counters shownat 32, 32 33 etc located in the read-out information station 11 for apurpose to be disclosed more fully hereinafter. Thus, if these countersare provided, a third event will occur upon the line people-hours countregistering device 22 being actuated which results in changing thenumber indicated by the read-out counters 32 located in the informationstation. Whenever the stepping switch on one of the line timecontrollers and digitizers 23 is stepped up or down, that person's timeon the line begins to be either added or stops being recorded,respectively to the total hoursworked time being recorded on thecounters 25 located in the read-out information station 11. Hence, itwill be appreciated that at any time when a person is added orsubtracted from an assembly line, his time instantaneously begins to beadded to the total on the line he is assigned to, and ceased to berecorded on the line at which he was previously working.

Completed Article Counting and Read-out The next important featureprovided by the conveyor loading and counting system of the invention isthe exact tallying of all articles being produced on each assembly line12. This tallying of the articles produced throughout the manufacturingfacility, is accomplished in three places; namely in the packing areafor each assembly line with the packing area count registering devices13, in the loading area 14 with the loading area count registeringdevice 17, and the unloading area or warehouse 16 with the unloadingarea count registering device 19. The construction and operation of eachof the devices 13, 17, and 19 will be described more fully hereinafter;however, it is important to note that the article counts derived bythese devices are supplied to counters in the read-out information roomfor producing a readily accesible, centrally located tally of all of theitems produced and subsequently handled in the manufacturing facility.

The count recorded by the packing area count registering devices 13 issupplied to respective central articles completed counting and read-outcounters 26 26 26 etc located in the read-out information room 11. Theloading area count derived by the loading area count registering device17 is supplied to the loading area counter 18, and the unloading areacount derived by the unloading area count registering device 19 issupplied to an unloading area counter 21 with both counters 18 and 21being substantially identical and located side by side in the read-outinformation station 1 1. It should be noted at this point that theloading area counter 18 and the unloading area counter 21 located in theread-out information room may readily keep track of all the packedarticles moving from the loading area into the unloading area by theconveyor 15. This also supplies a cross check against the countsobtained on the packing area counters 26 from all of the unit assemblyline read-outs. This is achieved by designing counters 18 and 21 toinclude separate assembly line unit counters 15 for providing a count ofeach separate type of article produced by the respective assembly lines,as well as a total count of all articles passing through the loading andunloading areas.

In operation, the article tallying portion of the article/time recordingsystem functions in the following manner. At the beginning of the workday, or at the beginning of some other similar period of work time, allof the unit meters are set at Zero, and at the end of the period, all ofthe articles produced during the period are placed in the warehousestorage area. With these operating conditions satisfied, the sum totalon each assembly line counter 26 should equal the total, for each itemrespectively, of the unit meters l-S on the panels of the loading areacounter 18 and the unloading area counter 21. Also, the total of all ofthe assembly line read-outs 26 together should equal the totals shown onboth the loading area counter 18 and the unloading area counter 21.Should it prove desirable, it is also possible to have pieces producedper hour meter for each assembly line which can be made visual to theworkers on the line so that they can see how well or how poorly they areproducing as compared to a predetermined standard. This can serve tokeep incentive up and work interest. It is also possible by means ofsuitably designed operational amplifiers to convert the pieces per hourinto a dollars and cents cost, and read this particular value off on asuitable electrical meter with an altered unit measuring scale.

From the foregoing description of the overall article/time recordingsystem, it will be appreciated therefor that the system is capable ofkeeping an accurate count of every employee punching into or out of workon a standard commercial time clock. lt keeps an accurate count of thetotal number of employees on any assembly line, packing station, or anyother type of operation utilized by the manufacturing firm. It makesavailable at any time, the total amount of accumulated worker time bythose employees on any of the above operations. It provides a directread-out accurate to any desired decimal amount, of the totalaccumulation of work time, on any operation by any number of employeesat any desired time of read-out. In other words, the read-out isaccumulated constantly and is instantaneously available. The system alsorecords all of the items or parts produced, in any unit amount desired,that are or are not a direct result of the manufacturing operations. Inany case where the items produced are a direct result of thoseoperations, a cost control figure of units per worked hour is readilyavailable by simply dividing the total number of units produced by thetotal number of worked hours required to produce those units. Thisfigure is available either manually through division on the part of anoperator assigned to the readout information station, or it may beobtained electrically through direct acting computation devices. Hereagain, this figure is available on an instantaneous basis at any desiredread-out time. The system can completely record all of the items passingout of the manufacturing areas over a conveyor system into a storagearea. This can be done item by item again reading out in any unitdesired. Another important feature (to be discussed more fullyhereinafter) is that the articles placed on the conveyor, can be placedat random without any special markings necessary on the items, and thesystem can be so set as to not only count these items at random byunits, but also sort them by type of item into any combination desired.The system will provide information as to how many people are beingrecorded for paid purposes at any instant since they are being recordedby the time clock. It will also tell one the total time being paid forat any instant to any decimal figure desired. It will record the totalnumber of people and the amount of time being worked by these samepeople on any particular operation. This provides an instantaneous checkof the time and people being paid for, for comparison to particular jobstandards for the jobs at which these people are working, and the timespent on thejob. The system will aid in obtaining good standard costsusing standard units per worked-unit of time and will also help incontrolling production and evaluating the advantages or disadvantages ofdifferent production techniques on an on the spot instantaneous basis.It provides a record of all of the units of a particular articleproduced, and supplies the manufacturer with a triple check on thisfigure which is quite important in obtaining accurate inventory records.Packing Area Counting and Read-out Device At the end of each assemblyline, as the completed article leaves the assembly line, it is generallypacked into a container usually in some predetermined quantity such asone per box, one half dozen per box, one dozen per box, etc. When eachcontainer is closed, a special piece of control tape is placed on it ina predetermined location on the container. In order for the packer toobtain this control tape" a conventional, commercially availableelectro-mechanical dispensing and counting apparatus is employed. Thisapparatus may be any one of a number of commercially availabledispensing and preset count, counting mechanisms wherein the presetcount is one. Actuation of the tape dispenser to issue one piece ofcontrol tape causes the counter registering device to register one countin the unit counters 26 26 26 etc located in the read-out informationroom. If desired, the count may also be recorded on a suitableindicating dial located in the packing area.

In addition to registering a count for each piece of control tapeissued, the dispenser activates a visual or audible signal which islocked on, and is not turned off until the packer places the containerin a specified area (such as a loading platform or on the loadingsection of a conveyor), and then presses a second control switch whichwill deenergize the visual or audible alarm. This second control switchpreferably also is used to control the dispenser which is designed sothat it is locked out and cannot dispense another piece of control tapeuntil such time that the second control switch is actuated therebyindicating that the packer has placed the container in the specifiedarea. This is a safety feature which diminishes the possibility of apacker placing two pieces of control tape on one package, and therebybotching up the count of the number of articles coming off the assemblyline. It also makes it mandatory for the packer to place each containerin the specified area. The count provided by the packing area countingand read-out means then gives a running and instantaneous count of thenumber of articles produced by each assembly line. This figure coupledwith the total worked time on each line as indicated by the meter 25 forthe particular line, will then supply the instantaneous pieces per unitper personhour rate which can be compared against a standard. Thedesirability of having this figure on an instantaneous demand basis hasbeen pointed out above.

Conveyor Loading and Counting Mechanism As illustrated in FIG. 1 of thedrawings, the next article count to be obtained following the packingarea count, is that derived in the conveyor loading area 14 by theloading area count registering device 17. This count is obtainedautomatically by an operator loading the conveyor 15. A standard rolleror belt type electromechanical powered conveyor is used in conjunctionwith a gravity operated loading area portion employing a special circuitsuch as that shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings. Referring to FIG. 2 eachcontainer of completed articles is loaded by placing the container on aninclined, unpowered, roller (loading) section of the conveyor showngenerally at 71. Thereafter, the container will roll down until itencounters the activation arm or trigger arm 72 of a micro switch 73 forderiving a count of the articles loaded on the conveyor. The trigger arm72 is placed in the center of the conveyor and is pivotally mounted witha spring return so that it always returns to a normal inactive positionwhere it will be contacted by the next container passing over theloading section of the conveyor. The unpowered, gravity operated loadingportion of the conveyor is placed immediately adjacent to a poweredsection 74 in a manner such that a container traveling down the gravityoperated portion will slide onto and engage at least a part of thepowered portion of the conveyor while simultaneously depressing thetrigger arm 72.

The powered conveyor portion shown generally at 74 is designed so thatit runs only when the switch arm 72 is depressed. Therefore, as acontainer moves past and depresses the switch arm 72, the poweredsection of the conveyor is activated so as to withdraw the container offof the count registering trigger 72, and onto the power driven portionof the conveyor a sufficient distance to assure return of the trigger 72to its normally inactive position thereby recording one count whilesimultaneously loading the power driven portion of the conveyor with onecompleted article. Upon this occurrence, the powered portion of theconveyor will again stop due to the trigger 72 no longer beingdepressed. It will be seen therefore that as each container is placed onthe loading portion 71 of the conveyor, the powered section 74 inchesforward only enough to accept each container that passes the trigger arm72. Concurrently with this action, activation of the switch 73 by thetrigger arm 72 operates to record one count in the loading area counter18 located in the read-out station 11. If desired, a similar counter maybe activated in the loading area to indicate to the loading operatorthat the container has been properly counted and recorded.

Another safety factor which is built into the conveyor loading andcounting system is to protect against two or more containers beingcounted as one by the trigger arm 72. This is possible because if, forexample, two containers are placed on the loading portion 71 of theconveyor back to back, trigger arm 72 will be depressed and powersection 74 activated. As the first container moves into the poweredsection, the second container (being back to back against the first)does not allow the trigger arm 72 to return to its normally inactiveposition, which is required in order to record a count for the secondcontainer. Consequently, the loading area counter would record only oneunit count instead of two. To prevent this occurrence, a count assuring,cylinder actuated, stop shown at 75 and having a stopping arm 76 isprovided. The cylinder actuated stop 75, 76 is activated by the switch73 so that the stopping arm 76 is raised to prevent containers movingdown the loading section 71 in back to back fashion. Therefore, duringthe time that a container is on the trigger arm 72, no other containermay enter the area (at a predetermine distance) in front of the arm 72without being stopped by the extended stop arm 76 of cylinder 75. Sincein most manufacturing firms, the length of the containers will varywidely, a number of such stops are required at various positions in theunpowered section 71, the activation of which is determined by aselector switch to be described more fully hereinafter.

Referring again to FIG. 1 of the drawings, it will be seen that theloading area counter 18 located in the read-out information station 1 1has on its face a plurality of dials indicated as number 1 throughtogether with a total dial. Each of these dials 1 through 5 comprises aseparate meter which may be selectively activated by a selector switcharm, the setting of which is determined by the setting of an identicalcounter located in the loading area 14. This setting adjustment is madeby the loading operator in accordance with the type of article beingloaded. Hence, it will be appreciated that each meter 1 through 5 willrepresent the total number of a given type of article or container beingloaded. The fact that five meters are used is pure- 1y for explanatorypurposes since there may be any number of meters to correspond to thenumber of assembly lines being serviced. With this arrangement, if theloading operator decides to load containers of item number 3 forexample, he sets the selector switch to the unit meter representing itemnumber 3. Thereafter, each time that the trigger arm 72 and switch 73are actuated in the loading area, one unit count will be added to thecount accumulated on the unit meter 3. Also, one count is added to thetotal units out of the loading area meter shown in the lower portion ofthe counter 18. It will be seen therefore that as each different item isloaded onto the conveyor, the selector switch is changed to record thetotal number of each different type of article or container beingloaded, and that the lower totaling meter will provide a total count ofall of the articles or containers being processed through the loadingarea.

It should also be noted at this point that the selector switch arm forthe loading area counters also activates the previously mentioneddifferently positioned stopping arms 76 for accommodating differentlength containers of completed articles. It will be seen therefore thatas each different item is loaded onto the loading portion 71 of theconveyor, the selector switch is actuated by the loader-operator so asto count and record separately the total number of this particular typeof container being loaded, and that the selector switch also selectswhich particular stopping arm 76 will be actuated so as to accommodatethe particular size container for the type of article being loaded.

Unloading Area Counting and Read-out Another control feature madeavailable by the conveyor loading and counting system of the inventionis the provision of an unloading area counting and readout means forderiving a count of the completed articles being transported to anunloading area from the manufacturing facility. As is best seen in FIG.I of the drawings, this unloading area is located at thedischarge-unloading end of conveyor 15 and comprises an unloading areacount registering device 19. The count registering device 19 maycomprise any form of electric switch for producing one electric signalpulse for each container or article coming into the unloading area.However, preferably the device 19 comprises a counter similar to theloading area counter 18 described previously for accommodating differenttypes of articles being processed through the unloading area. It is alsopreferable that the device 19 comprise an automatically triggeredcounter mechanism such as the trigger actuated switching arrangement 72,73 shown in FIG. 2. This arrangement may be mounted on an unpowered,gravity operated discharge-unloading portion of the conveyor mechanismfor automatically recording one count for each container supplied to theunloading portion of the conveyor. If a multi-type counter 21 is used asthe unloading area counter in the read-out information station 11, asimilar multi-type counter will be employed as the unloading area countregistering device 19. With such an arrangement, all that theunloader-operator has to do is to change the position of the selectorswitch to identify the particular type of article being unloaded and thecount for such article will be registered on his own and on theunloading area counter 21 in the read-out information station 11.Concurrently, a totalized count of all containers passing through theunloading area will be registered on the total count appearing in thelower portion of the counter 21.

FIG. 3 of the drawings illustrates in sectional view thedischarge-unloading portion of the conveyor 15 wherein the countregistering trigger arm is shown at 81 for actuating a micro switch 82that records the count of a container passing through the unpowered,gravity operated roller section 83 supplied from the powered section 74of the conveyor. Thereafter, a container passing through theunloading-discharge portion of the conveyor rolls onto a section 84which may be either gravity operated or a powered section. This sectionincludes at least one over-delivery sensing and inactivating controlmeans for sensing a build up of unloaded containers being delivered tothe discharge unloading portion above a predetermined number, and forinactivating the power driven portion 74 of the conveyor mechanism inresponse to this build-up. This overdelivery sensing and inactivatingcontrol is comprised by a series of limit switches 85 and 86 whichcontrol the power operated section 74 of the conveyor. This protectionfeature is provided in order to enable an operator-unloader to removethe containers from the section 84 without fear of the containers beingput on by the loading area operator so fast that they pile up in theunloading area. The limit switches 85 and 86 are spaced farther apart indistance than the longest container to be processed. Therefore, if thecontainers start to pile up at the unloading-discharge end of theconveyor, then either one, or both of the limit switches 85 and 86 willbe depressed so as to deenergize the powered section 74. Whether oneortwo of the limit switches 85 and 86 is determined by the degree ofbuild-up that will be tolerated before the limiting action isintroduced. Upon the powered section 74 being thus deenergized by eitheror both of the limit switches 85 and 86, the stop 76 at the loading endwill automatically be raised by cylinder 75 so that no furthercontainers may be loaded onto the conveyor until the limit switches 85and 86 are again cleared.

As stated previously, in the read-out information station 11 there islocated all of the counters and meters employed in the article/timerecording system. This enables one man in the read-out informationstation to keep track of all of the information necessary to obtain thedesired cost accounting and inventory control information required incontrolling the operations of the manufacturing facility. By reading theloading area counters 18 and the unloading area counter 21 it ispossible for him to keep track of all of the containers moving from onearea of the plant to another. It also provides a check against thecounts that are obtained from the unit line read-outs 26 on acontinuously up dated substantially instantaneous basis. Under normaloperation, at the beginning of any one work day or other work period oftime, all the unit meters are set to zero and all the containers madeduring that period are placed in the storage area at the end of theperiod. Under these conditions, the sum total on each unit line read-out26 should equal the total for each item respectively of the unit meterson the loading area and unloading area counters 18 and 21, respectively.Also the total of all the unit line read out counters 26 should equalthe total counts shown on both the loading area counter 18 and unloadingarea counter 21. In order to facilitate placing all the containers inthe storage area at the end of a work period, a manual on-off switch isprovided at the unloading station for placing the power driven portionof the conveyor mechanism in a continuous run mode whereby all of thecontainers previously loaded onto the power driven portion on aonecount-at-a-time basis, can be transported to and unloaded at thestorage area. Simultaneously with the actuation of the continuous run,manually operated, onoff switch, the count assuring stop means at theloading stations is actuated to prevent any further loading of the powerdriven portion of the conveyor during the clearing operation therebypreventing any foul-up in the count obtained at the read-out informationstation. From the foregoing description, it will be appreciated that thepresent invention provides a new and improved conveyor loading andcounting system for manufacuting plants which facilitates themaintenance of a central, continuously up-dated, running account of thenumber of articles produced and transported out of the plant to awarehouse area, etc whereby an accurate and readily obtained up-to-datefigure for the numbers of articles produced per worked hour and/or thenumber of articles produced each day, is instantaneously available foraccounting and inventory control purposes at any time during the workday or at the end of the day.

Having described an embodiment of a new and improved conveyor loadingand counting system constructed in accordance with the invention, it isbelieved obvious that other modifications and variations of theinvention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It istherefore to be understood that changes may be made in the particularembodiment of the invention described which are within the full intendedscope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A conveyor loading and counting assembly for an automatic conveyormechanism which includes a power driven portion that normally in itsinactive condition engages an article to be conveyed subsequent to thearticle being loaded upon the conveyor mechanism count registering andenergizing trigger means for registering a unit count in a counter foreach completed article loaded upon the conveyor mechanism and foractuating the power driven portion of the conveyor to cause the conveyorto convey the article thus counted to another location, and a gravityoperated portion that feeds the power driven portion and upon which thearticles to be conveyed are initially placed, the count registering andenergizing trigger means being supported on the gravity operated portionin a position spaced from the power driven portion designed to assuresimultaneous engagement of the gravity operated portion and actuation ofthe count registering and energizing trigger means whereby the powerdriven portion will be enabled upon each occurrence of an article beingplaced on the conveyor mechanism to withdrawn the article off the countregistering and energizing trigger means and onto the power drivenportion a sufficient distance to assure return of the trigger means toits normally inactive position while simultaneously loading the powerdriven portion of the conveyor with one article.

2. A conveyor loading and counting assembly according to claim 1 furtherincluding manually operated, continuous-run, on-off switch means forplacing the power operated portion of the conveyor mechanism in acontinuous run mode for clearing the conveyor of all containerspreviously loaded thereon at the end of a work day.

3. A conveyor loading and counting assembly according to claim 1 furtherincluding a plurality of differently located count assuring stop meansfor assuring an accurate count of articles loaded on the conveyor andfor accommodating articles of different types, and types of articleselector means for controlling which particular type count assuring stopmeans is rendered active for use in controlling the supply of articlesto the power driven portion of the conveyor mechanism.

4. A conveyor loading and counting assembly according to claim 3 furtherincluding manually operated, continuous-run, on-off switch means forplacing the power operated portion of the conveyor mechanism in acontinuous run mode for clearing the conveyor of all containerspreviously loaded thereon at the end of a work day, said count assuringstop means being actuated simultaneously with the operation of saidmanually operated, continuous run switch means.

5. A conveyor loading and counting assembly according to claim 3 whereinthe conveyor mechanism further includes at its discharge-unloading end adischarge gravity operated portion to which the power driven portiondelivers articles stored thereon for unloading, and said gravityoperated portion includes at least one over delivery sensing andinactivating control means for sensing a build-up of unloaded articlesbeing delivered to the discharge gravity operated portion above apredetermined number and for inactivating the power driven portion ofthe conveyor mechanism in response thereto.

6. A conveyor loading and counting assembly according to claim 5 furtherincluding unloading area counting and read-out means for delivering acount of the articles transported by the conveyor mechanism to thedischarge-unloading end thereof, and unloading area count registeringmeans located in the unloading area and coupled to and controlling theunloading area counting and read-out means.

7. A conveyor loading and counting assembly according to claim 6 whereinthe unloading area count registering means comprises unloading articlesensing trigger means mounted on the discharge-unloading gravityoperated portion of the conveyor mechanism for registering one unitcount for each article transported over such discharge-unloading portioninto the unloading area.

8. A conveyor loading and counting assembly according to claim 7 whereinsaid unloading area counting and read-out means includes a plurality ofdifferent characteristic article counters for deriving a count of eachdifferent type of article coming into the unloading area, and type ofarticle selector means comprising a part of the unloading area countregistering means for selectively activating a desired one of theplurality of different characteristic article counters in accordancewith the type of article coming into the unloading area. 9. A conveyorloading and counting assem ly according to claim 8 further includingmanually operable control means for inactivating the power drivenportion of the conveyor mechanism and simultaneously activating thecount assuring stop means at the option of an operator-unloader workingat the discharge-unloading end of the conveyor mechanism.

10. A conveyor loading and counting assembly according to claim 9further including manually operated, continuous-run, on-off switch meansfor placing the power operated portion of the conveyor mechanism in acontinuous run mode for clearing the conveyor of all containerspreviously loaded thereon at the end of a work day, said count assuringstop means being actuated simultaneously with the operation of saidmanually operated, continuous run switch means.

11. A conveyor loading and counting assembly according to claim 5further including manually operable control means for inactivating thepower driven portion of the conveyor and simultaneously activating thecount assuring stop means.

12. A conveyor loading and counting assembly according to claim 1wherein the conveyor mechanism further includes at itsdischarge-unloading end a discharge gravity operated portion to whichthe power driven portion delivers articles stored thereon for unloading,and said gravity operated portion includes at least one over deliverysensing and inactivating control means for sensing a build-up ofunloaded articles being delivered to the discharge gravity operatedportion above a predetermined number and for inactivating the powerdriven portion of the conveyor mechanism in response thereto.

13. A conveyor loading and counting assembly according to claim 12further including manually operable control means for inactivating thepower driven portion of the conveyor mechanism at the option of anoperator-unloader working at the discharge-unloading end of the conveyormechamism.

14. A conveyor loading and counting assembly according to claim 12further including unloading area counting and read-out means forderiving a count of the articles transported by the conveyor mechamismto the discharge-unloading end thereof, and unloading area countregistering means located in the loading area and coupled to andcontrolling the unloading area counting and read-out means.

15. A conveyor loading and counting assembly according to claim 14wherein the unloading area count registering means comprises unloadingarticle sensing trigger means mounted on the discharge-unloading portionof the conveyor mechanism for registering one unit count for eacharticle transported over such discharge-unloading portion into theloading area.

16. A conveyor loading and counting assembly according to claim 1further including unloading area counting and read-out means forderiving a count of the articles transported by the conveyor mechanismto the discharge-unloading end thereof, and unloading area countregistering means located in the unloading area and coupled to andcontrolling the unloading area counting and read-out means.

1. A conveyor loading and counting assembly for an automatic conveyor mechanism which includes a power driven portion that normally in its inactive condition engages an article to be conveyed subsequent to the article being loaded upon the conveyor mechanism, count registering and energizing trigger means for registering a unit count in a counter for each completed article loaded upon the conveyor mechanism and for actuating the power driven portion of the conveyor to cause the conveyor to convey the article thus counted to another location, and a gravity operated portion that feeds the power driven portion and upon which the articles to be conveyed are initially placed, the count registering and energizing trigger means being supported on the gravity operated portion in a position spaced from the power driven portion designed to assure simultaneous engagement of the gravity operated portion and actuation of the count registering and energizing trigger means whereby the power driven portion will be enabled upon each occurrence of an article being placed on the conveyor mechanism to withdrawn the article off the count registering and energizing trigger means and onto the power driven portion a sufficient distance to assure return of the trigger means to its normally inactive position while simultaneously loading the power driven portion of the conveyor with one article.
 2. A conveyor loading and counting assembly according to claim 1 further including manually operated, continuous-run, on-off switch means for placing the power operated portion of the conveyor mechanism in a continuous run mode for clearing the conveyor of all containers previously loaded thereon at the end of a work day.
 3. A conveyor loading and counting assembly according to claim 1 further including a plurality of differently located count assuring stop means for assuring an accurate count of articles loaded on the conveyor and for accommodating articles of different types, and types of article selector means for controlling which particular type count assuring stop means is rendered active for use in controlling the supply of articles to the power driven portion of the conveyor mechanism.
 4. A conveyor loading and counting assembly according to claim 3 further including manually operated, continuous-run, on-off switch means for placing the power operated portion of the conveyor mechanism in a continuous run mode for clearing the conveyor of all containers previously loaded thereon at the end of a work day, said count assuring stop means being actuated simultaneously with the operation of said manually operated, continuous run switch means.
 5. A conveyor loading and counting assembly according to claim 3 wherein the conveyor mechanism further includes at its discharge-unloading end a discharge gravity operated portion to which the power driven portion delivers articles stored thereon for unloading, and said gravity operated portion includes at least one over delivery sensing and inactivating control means for sensing a build-up of unloaded articles being delivered to the discharge gravity operated portion above a predetermined number and for inactivating the power driven portion of the conveyor mechanism in response thereto.
 6. A conveyor loading and counting assembly according to claim 5 further including unloading area counting and read-out means for delivering a count of the articles transported by the conveyor mechanism to the discharge-unloading end thereof, and unloading area count registeriNg means located in the unloading area and coupled to and controlling the unloading area counting and read-out means.
 7. A conveyor loading and counting assembly according to claim 6 wherein the unloading area count registering means comprises unloading article sensing trigger means mounted on the discharge-unloading gravity operated portion of the conveyor mechanism for registering one unit count for each article transported over such discharge-unloading portion into the unloading area.
 8. A conveyor loading and counting assembly according to claim 7 wherein said unloading area counting and read-out means includes a plurality of different characteristic article counters for deriving a count of each different type of article coming into the unloading area, and type of article selector means comprising a part of the unloading area count registering means for selectively activating a desired one of the plurality of different characteristic article counters in accordance with the type of article coming into the unloading area.
 9. A conveyor loading and counting assembly according to claim 8 further including manually operable control means for inactivating the power driven portion of the conveyor mechanism and simultaneously activating the count assuring stop means at the option of an operator-unloader working at the discharge-unloading end of the conveyor mechanism.
 10. A conveyor loading and counting assembly according to claim 9 further including manually operated, continuous-run, on-off switch means for placing the power operated portion of the conveyor mechanism in a continuous run mode for clearing the conveyor of all containers previously loaded thereon at the end of a work day, said count assuring stop means being actuated simultaneously with the operation of said manually operated, continuous run switch means.
 11. A conveyor loading and counting assembly according to claim 5 further including manually operable control means for inactivating the power driven portion of the conveyor and simultaneously activating the count assuring stop means.
 12. A conveyor loading and counting assembly according to claim 1 wherein the conveyor mechanism further includes at its discharge-unloading end a discharge gravity operated portion to which the power driven portion delivers articles stored thereon for unloading, and said gravity operated portion includes at least one over delivery sensing and inactivating control means for sensing a build-up of unloaded articles being delivered to the discharge gravity operated portion above a predetermined number and for inactivating the power driven portion of the conveyor mechanism in response thereto.
 13. A conveyor loading and counting assembly according to claim 12 further including manually operable control means for inactivating the power driven portion of the conveyor mechanism at the option of an operator-unloader working at the discharge-unloading end of the conveyor mechamism.
 14. A conveyor loading and counting assembly according to claim 12 further including unloading area counting and read-out means for deriving a count of the articles transported by the conveyor mechamism to the discharge-unloading end thereof, and unloading area count registering means located in the unloading area and coupled to and controlling the unloading area counting and read-out means.
 15. A conveyor loading and counting assembly according to claim 14 wherein the unloading area count registering means comprises unloading article sensing trigger means mounted on the discharge-unloading portion of the conveyor mechanism for registering one unit count for each article transported over such discharge-unloading portion into the loading area.
 16. A conveyor loading and counting assembly according to claim 1 further including unloading area counting and read-out means for deriving a count of the articles transported by the conveyor mechanism to the discharge-unloading end thereof, and unloading area count registering means located in The unloading area and coupled to and controlling the unloading area counting and read-out means. 